Samuel t



SAMUEL F. PRATT, OF ROXBIIRY, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. l65,007. datedulfay 21, i857.

IMPROVBD IURNIIUltEA FOR VESSELS.

TD ALL WI-IOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Ee it known that I, SAMUEL F. PRATT, of Roxbury, in the county of Norfolk, and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement' in Furniture for Vessels ;f and I do hereby declare that the following, taken in connection with the drawings' which accompany and form part oi' this speeitieatioznis a description of my invention sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practise it.

The 'object ot' this invention is to supply a. ready and convenient means for floating voyagers, in case of disaster to their vessels, by affording them, from the furniture thereof, boats complete in'thernselves. for all the purposes of flotation, and requiring no manipulation to tit them for such purposes.

My invention consists in a water-tight tank, capable of floating as a boat per se, and provided with one or more water-tight divisions, compartments, or boxes, designed and arranged to serve 4the purpose of buoyancy, or for deposits of water or food, when said tank is so shaped and proportioned as to serve also thepurposes oi' a support for seats or backs, and to thus constitute a portion of vessels furniture, for the purposeof. seating the passengers or crew. In large steamboats, especially those used for ferriage, lake, river, hay, sound, and coasting trips, there are saloons and covered decks where there is room for lines of long double seats or sofas, preferably with an upright centre-piece, the two sides of which, especially when upholstered, serve as backs for the double seats. These saloons and decks being generally screened from the direct .rays of the sun, alibi-d better facilities for keeping boats from drying, cracking, and warping, than can be had on the exposed open decks, and boats kept there are less liable to injury from violent contact or other accident. By my invention I am enabled to introduce into these desirable and well-protected places, in the guise and serving the purpose et' furniture, boats, or water-tight tanks, fitted for use without change as boats, thus without materially changing the appearance of a vesscls furniture, or largely enhancing it-s cost, making' provision for the flotation oi' a great number of human beings, without necessitating any reduction in the number or capacity of first-class lifeboats, or reducing the space in which they woul'd be carried. Of the drawings illustrating my invention- Figure 1 represents, in perspective, one of my seat-supports, in the vposition in which it will float when used as a boat.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the same seat-support, reversed. in position, and with the addition thereinto of cushioned seats and back.

Figure 3 is across-section, showing the support, andthe seats and back placed thereupon.

`I prefer to embody my invention in metal, such as zinc-covered rolled iron sheets though the embodiment may be made in' wood. The shell ofthe support has ,a vertical height sutlcient to elevate the surface of the seat l lor cushion placed thereon to the height requisite for the comfort of adult persons when sitting. If it is desirable to have the body ot' the support, when viewed as a boat, deeper than this, it may be so made, and a platform or step surrounding thesupport may be used as a foot-stool.

In the drawings, a represents the surface wbiclrforms the bottom of the boat; b, the sides; c, the ends, which I prefer to makeeither angular or curvilinear, instead of' square. In the ends .of the tank bounded byu, b, c, I design to secure water-tight compartments, preferably et' less height than the sides b and ends c. I also desigutoprovide the'tank with water-tight lockers, one of which is seenat d, these serving to store a supply of food,,and-:fte strengthen the tank, and answer the purposes of seats for occupants of the tank when in use as a boat, these latter purposes being also served by the compartments at the ends ofthe tank. I prefer to make use of the tank as a support, with its bottoni a uppermost, as seen in tigs. 2 and 3, but the tank may be used to support the seats in the position seen in iig. 4. When the bottom a is uppermost, when supporting the seats, as in figs. 2 and 3, I design to make use of a hollow keel thereupon, to be kept constant-l51 full of fresh water, in readiness for any disaster, provision being made inside of the tank for drawing the water as it may be needed. The food-tanksI design to have kept constantly stored with food, to bc-changed fromtime to time, like the water, as may be necessary. Provision is made in the back of the seats, as seen in fig. 3, for the keel, which thus serves to keep the whole ofthe seat in its place on its support.

' I do not claim the employment of furniture by joining two or more pieces into a tank, malle unter-tight by means of paekedjoints, such a design forming no part of my invention.

I claim the combination of the seat and water-tioht tank when constructed and arraufred to c serate substantially as and for the purpose specified.

Also, in combination with the foregoing. of one or more water-tight compartments, as and for the purpose specified. l

. S. F. PRATT. Witn esses;

J. B. CRosBY, F. Gouw. 

